<< Prev Page 2 of 2 Lola's first customer was the Cooke-Woods team, who considering his earlier retirement reconsiderations not surprisingly employed Brian Redman as lead driver and team manager. The Cooke-Woods T600 was fitted with a small-block Chevrolet V8, which produced well over 600 bhp. The car debuted at Laguna Seca where Redman overcame early problems in the race to take victory ahead of the production based Porsche 935s, which had dominated American road racing for a long time. It was the start of a hugely successful campaign, which saw Redman finish either first or second in the next nine races. He was crowned IMSA Champion at the end of the year.
Redman's success had quickly filled Lola's order book and eventually a dozen T600s were built. Campaigned by independent teams, they were powered by a variety of engines. One fitted with a Porsche turbo engine was entered for Le Mans in 1981 but lack of any preparation meant that the effort was an embarrassing failure. There was some success however for the T600 in Europe as an example fitted with a Cosworth V8 won the Enna Pergusa and Brands Hatch rounds of the FIA World Endurance Championship. The Chevrolet powered versions were most successful with more IMSA victories being scored in 1982.
One of the reasons the T600 struggled in Europe was its high downforce and drag, hampering the car at high speed tracks. A special 'low drag' T610 was built for 1982 but by this time Porsche had entered the fray and raised the bar considerably with the 956. In the United States the arrival of the more advanced March 82G also marked the end of the T600's successes. Among the weaknesses revealed was the poor high speed stability caused by a chassis that was still not strong enough. The early results did earn Lola contracts to develop GTP cars for both Lola and Chevrolet, both of which were raced successfully well into the second half of the 1980s. << Prev Page 2 of 2
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Lola's first customer was the Cooke-Woods team, who considering his earlier retirement reconsiderations not surprisingly employed Brian Redman as lead driver and team manager. The Cooke-Woods T600 was fitted with a small-block Chevrolet V8, which produced well over 600 bhp. The car debuted at Laguna Seca where Redman overcame early problems in the race to take victory ahead of the production based Porsche 935s, which had dominated American road racing for a long time. It was the start of a hugely successful campaign, which saw Redman finish either first or second in the next nine races. He was crowned IMSA Champion at the end of the year.